Lophobranchs, an order of bony fishes, whose gills, instead of hanging in regular fringes, are disposed in tufts arranged in pairs along the branchial arches. The external skeleton resembles the armor of the ganoids, and they are placed by some as an order of this class; the body is almost fleshless, and the form is generally stiff and angular; the snout is elongated and tubular, the gill opening very small, and the air bladder without a duct. This order includes, among others, the genera hip-pocampus (Cuv.), pegasus (Linn.), and syngna-thus (Linn.). Among the strange and beautiful forms in this order may be mentioned the pliyllopteryx of the Australian seas, having the most exquisite red and purple tints, and adorned with numerous leaf-like appendages. In the mailed pegasus, with its spiny rings, the mouth opens at the base of the prolonged snout, as in the sturgeons. Syngnathus is noticed under Pipe Fish. One of the most curious peculiarities in this order is that the males carry the eggs in ventral or caudal pouches until they are hatched. (See Sea Horse.)